Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met June 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The June 24th, 2024, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Colomer, Faber, and Baker were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Justin Raver, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmember Komnick was absent.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a moment of silence for our troops.

The Consent Agenda was presented with the following items:

A. Minutes from the Council Meeting on June 10th

B. Payroll for the pay period ending June 15th in the amount of $216,388.36.

C. Staff Reports

D. Fireworks Permit for Cernovich

E. Fireworks Permit for NE Park

A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Motion passed 4-0.

Bills for June 24th Council Meeting were presented in the amount of $629,979.47. A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0.

Public Comments:

Robert Von sought help from the Council finding somewhere to live as he is homeless. The Mayor explained that the City does not have finances or resources dedicated to that. We can only give him information for agencies that may be able to help. Police Chief Kijanowski gave Mr. Von information regarding the DAART program and agencies that may be able to help.

Tim Ridings read a few sentences from the US and Illinois Constitutions and then offered a prayer.

Swearing in of New Personnel:

Kewanee Police Department’s newest officer, Adam Sovanski, was sworn in by the City Clerk and was then pinned with his badge, by his wife Crystal, and his KPD pins by Police Chief Kijanowski and Sergeant Kingdon.

New Business:

A. Update: Station 2

Fire Chief Welgat updated the Council on the status of Fire Station 2. It had been struck by the aerial ladder truck as it was being parked on June 4th. MSI happened to have a crew in the area that was able to respond quickly as there was significant structural damage to the single support pillar between the garage doors. The crew was able to shore up the building and stop any further structural damage. The next day, structural engineers from Chamlin

were on site and gave their approval for the work that had been done. The South side of the garage is not being used currently and the trucks are able to enter the garage from the North side. The housing portion of the building was unaffected. Staff have recently put out a Request for Proposal for structural and cosmetic updates to the building. Those are due by July 12th and the plan is to put a Resolution before the Council at the July 22nd meeting. The projected cost is approximately $175,000 with work being completed by October of this year.

B. Bid Opening: 309 N Main St

There are times when the city finds it in their best interest to sell property it owns. -

One bid was received. The City Clerk opened the sealed bid. John and Nicole Cernovich of Cerno Properties bid $3,001.00 for the parking lot. A motion to award the sale to the sole bidder was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Motion passed 4-0.

C. Consideration of Bill 24-61 Resolution authorizing the purchase of seven commercial lawnmowers from Bock Equipment and Repairs, and financing them through the State Bank of Toulon, for use in the City of Kewanee Cemeteries and Parks.

City equipment is used often and therefore does wear out. It was determined to be cost effective and less strain on the city budget to finance the purchase of some equipment. Bids were sought for both the price of equipment we intend to purchase as well as financing.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Colomer asked the Public Works Director, Mr. Newton, if the department had experience with this specific make and model of mower and if they were confident that these were the best option. Mr. Newton replied that they were happy with this option and believe they will work well. Motion passed 4-0.

D. Consideration of Bill 24-62 Ordinance to vacate the alley between Third and Fourth Streets east of the east right-of-way line of May Street and to vacate Fourth Street east of the east right-of-way line of May Street.

Sometimes when a land use changes, the city no longer has a need for streets or alleys that are platted. When this happens, the city often vacates the right-of-way and relinquishes ownership to adjacent property owners.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Discussion: Councilmember Baker asked if this was restricting traffic to one direction or if it was getting rid of the street/alley as such. This is the city handing over the rights of said property to adjacent owner. Motion passed 4-0.

Council Communications:

Faber: There has been an issue with loose animals. If your animal gets out, please call the Police Department, Humane Society, and post on social media if able. There are ways to get help with or surrender animals if needed. Please do not just dump them somewhere. Baker: none

Colomer: The City recently hosted many families that came to participate in the annual Nolan Keane Baseball Classic. It was great to see the City booming with the extra people. The tournament went well, and Nicholas and Shelly Welgat were thanked for all of their continued work on the event.

Mayor’s Communications: none

Announcements: City Hall and the Transfer Station will be Closed Thursday July 4th. Thursday trash and recycling will be moved to Friday the 5th. All other days will remain the same.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Motion passed 4-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 7:29pm.

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewaneeillinois/Minutes%206-24-2024.pdf